Night at the Museum: The Lost Queen
by Penelope Anne Neptune
Summary: Every night she woke up in darkness, banging and pleading to be found. Just when she was about to give up, she was greeted by a familiar face, one she thought she'd never see again.
1. Sacrifice

A/N: This is my first Night at the Museum fanfic, so apologizes if it doesn't live up to expectations. Constructive criticism is always appreciated.

Enjoy :)

* * *

Chapter One: Sacrifice

* * *

_Some Thousands Years Ago_

* * *

She stood on the edge, overlooking the mortal realm. The amount of possibilities she could see always amazed her. She admired how one choice could severely alter the life of a human. Humans fascinated her and she enjoyed watching them from here, in her father's realm.

"Come here, my child."

Her father's booming voice pulled her out of her trance. She turned towards her father and walked up to him, hands at her sides and kneeled before him.

"Yes, Father?"

"It pains me to do so, but a great sacrifice must be made to ensure the future of Egypt."

She looked up at him, worry etched on her face, "What sacrifice?"

"You, my dear daughter."

She felt her heart begin to race in fear, "No, Father. There has to be another way! I do not wish to die!"

"You will not die, but you will be mortal."

"Then I might as well be dead!"

She stood up, preparing to flee. She hoped this was a practical joke of some kind, but she doubted that. Her father was not one to joke around, but was rather serious most of the time. How come she didn't see this possibility? Did her father hide his intentions with magic? She _should _have seen something.

"Pharaoh Merenkahre has sought my help in keeping his family safe. This deed costs us both something great. You do not have a choice, daughter. It has already begun."

She looked down at her hands and saw them fading in front of her eyes as if she was turning into a ghost. No matter how much she pleaded or screamed, her body seemed to be fading away.

"No, Father! Please don't do this to me!"

Her screams were silenced once it reached her vocal cords. The last thing she saw before her vision went black was her father walking away from her.

* * *

She woke up in Egypt and knew she was in the mortal realm. She had viewed it enough to know what it looked like. She walked up the steps to where the Pharaoh and his queen should be waiting.

"Welcome. You must be Kamilah."

She bowed before the pharaoh and said, "Yes I am."

He gestured to the left of him, "I'd like you to meet my son, the one you'll be wedded to in three days time."

"Pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"I do think the pleasure is mine, Kamilah."

Her eyes met his and she felt at ease, despite being thrust into all of this so suddenly. If this is what being mortal was like, she might get used to it after all.

* * *

_Present Day_

* * *

Her eyes opened, only to feel her eyelashes hitting her wrappings and to see nothing but darkness around her. She was still here, trapped in this sarcophagus. How long had she been in here? Months? Years? Decades? With each passing day, she felt like she was losing her sanity. She felt like she couldn't breathe. Her memories grew more faint the more time she spent in this dark prison. She screamed and banged on the lid of her sarcophagus, begging and pleading to be let out.

"Shame McPhee had her moved down here."

This voice was the first she had heard in what she could only assume was years and she pleaded louder, this time in English.

"I'm sure she was beautiful." There was a long pause before the second voice continued, "Moving on."

She heard their footsteps fading away and screamed as loud as she could, banging against the lid until it felt like her hands were bleeding.

There were noises of things moving around up above her and she so desperately wanted to join them. Being trapped in here was the worst fate known to man.

The space around her seemed to be getting smaller, despite her knowing that was impossible. Her breath quickened to the point where she was almost hyperventilating and her chest began to hurt. The air around her seemed to thicken and she felt sweaty. She pounded on the lid again, trying so desperately to get the lid off, to no avail. She felt tears well up in her eyes only to be absorbed by her wrappings. Everything hurt and she felt like it was all for nothing. She would be trapped in here for the rest of her days with no escape.

She forced herself to focus on bringing her breathing back to normal and went through recalling every detail of her beloved's face. She just wished she could hear his voice, the one thing she couldn't seem to remember. His voice was the one thing that could calm her down from anything.

Would she ever see her love again?

Did he miss her as much as she missed him?

* * *

Larry looked over the museum at the impending sunrise and then back at all the exhibits outside the museum. He knew they only had a small amount of time to get all the exhibits back inside to safety before they all turned into dust.

"Oh boy."

"What is it?" Ahkmenrah asked.

"We gotta get you guys back to the museum."

"How?" Nicky questioned, seeing all the exhibits outside.

Larry looked down at the tablet in his hands, then up at Ahkmenrah and he held it out to the ancient pharaoh, "Ahkmenrah, I'm gonna need your help. This is your tablet. You know the instructions. I need you to get everyone back."

Ahkmenrah held the tablet in both hands and read the incantation out loud. It was something he had waited his whole life for, even though this wasn't his kingdom as he had imagined it as a boy, he was still proud of this moment. The tablet began to glow as the exhibits around them started to head back to the museum.

Ahkmenrah smiled up at Larry for a moment until another word that was once concealed revealed itself to him, seemingly appearing out of thin air.

Rexy was the first to head back to the museum and Larry smiled. He pulled out his cell phone and ushered Nicky to follow Rexy.

"There's someone who has got to see this."

"Kamilah." Ahkmenrah whispered.

"What was that, Ahk?"

He looked up at the night guard and shook his head, following Larry and Nicky, "Nothing."


	2. Rescue

A/N: A quick note before we hop back in:

Thank you to Marksman Queen and AomeAzakura for reviewing! I'm glad you both are enjoying it so far. And for those who have favourited this story, thank you as well.

On with the show!

* * *

Chapter Two: Rescue

* * *

Larry and Ahkmenrah took role call of the exhibits, but Ahkmenrah was distracted with memories of Kamilah. He tried to keep his mind focused on the task, but it wasn't quite as easy as he thought. He had to keep forcing his mind to focus back on present day, rather than slip into the past.

"Inuit."

"Yeah."

"One terracotta soldier. Vikings."

"Right."

"Alpaca."

"Welcome back, ladies."

"Llama."

"Hey uh Viking guys. Do me a favour. Your fellows made some funeral pyre type of thing in Petrified Wood. Go clean that up, okay? Thank you."

Ahkmenrah continued roll call for as long as he could before he handed it off to the first person he deemed would do a decent job of it. He couldn't believe he had forgotten about Kamilah. She was his wife for Ra's sake. Had all those years of being trapped in his sarcophagus corrupted his mind that much?

Part of him hoped she wasn't in the museum, living the same fate he did for the past fifty some years. The other part wished she was so they could be reunited again quicker.

He needed to find his wife, no matter what it took.

* * *

The next night, Ahkmenrah approached Larry carefully, hoping his request wouldn't set the guard off and in turn cause Larry to refuse to let him out the next night. He didn't think Larry was that type of person, but he also didn't want to risk it. The thought of being trapped in that sarcophagus for longer than he had to be in it alone was enough to put his nerves on edge.

"Larry Daley, can I ask a favour of you?"

"Of course, Ahk. What is it?"

"When I was alive, I had a wife, Kamilah. She was buried with myself and my parents. Since I came here, I have not seen her. Could you perhaps find out what happened to her?"

"I can try."

"Thank you, Larry."

"That's what you said earlier? Her name?"

"Yes. Our marriage was part of a deal our fathers drew up and her name was etched into the tablet." Ahkmenrah held the tablet up and showed Larry where her name was so he could see the exact character used. "If you find her sarcophagus, this is most likely etched into it."

"I'll see what I can find."

"Thank you. I am forever in your debt, Larry Daley."

* * *

Thanks to Rebecca, Larry found out what happened to Ahkmenrah's wife fairly quickly. According to her, Dr McPhee had her put in storage as he didn't think anyone would be interested in the young pharaoh's bride. Before his shift started, he headed down to storage, hoping to find her before nightfall when everything in storage would be alive. He unlocked the door and walked inside, clearly underestimating just how much stuff was stored down here. He walked through, shining his flashlight on the labels of the crates.

He hoped she was down here still and wasn't transferred somewhere else. He wanted to help the pharaoh as much as he could.

His eyes skimmed over labels, reading them out loud as he walked through, "Fossils. Miniatures. Sculptures. Paintings. Egyptian. Aha. Must be here."

He read the labels in this section more carefully, looking for keywords.

Larry eventually found her crate, pushed as far back as it could possibly be. He unlatched the lid and lifted it, revealing an intricate and elegant sarcophagus. He looked for the inscription Ahk showed him yesterday and found it. He made a note of where it was located and locked it back up.

Larry walked out of the storage room, locking the door behind him and went back upstairs to prepare for the night.

* * *

"Hey, Ahk. I think I found her."

Ahkmenrah's face lit up, happy at the possibility of being reunited with his love once again, "Well let's go."

Ahkmenrah followed Larry from his exhibit to the storage area. He impatiently waited while he unlocked and opened the door and followed him through the maze of crates in the room. Larry led him to where he had opened the crate earlier and Ahkmenrah would have recognized that sarcophagus anywhere.

"Is this her?" Larry asked, looking at Ahkmenrah for an answer.

Upon Larry's question, banging and screaming could be heard from it and worry crossed Ahkmenrah's face, "Yes. Will you help me?"

The two of them unlocked it and lifted the lid off. A mummy sat up, clawing at her wrappings, trying to desperately get them off. Ahkmenrah helped her, revealing a beautiful darker complexioned woman with long black hair.

Kamilah looked into the eyes she remembered so clearly and never thought she'd see again, "Ahkmen?"

He responded in their native tongue, tucking her hair behind her ear, "It's me, my love."

Kamilah wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face there, overwhelmed in her emotions, "I never thought I'd see you again."

Ahkmenrah helped her out of her sarcophagus and helped her out of the rest of her wrappings. Kamilah rummaged through a crate next to her's and found her stuff and put it on, finally feeling like a queen again. She followed them upstairs, feeling so free after so many years of being trapped.

* * *

The next night, Kamilah rose from her sarcophagus, which Larry had left everything unlocked for her and walked upstairs to Ahkmenrah's exhibit. She walked through, giving a respectful nod towards the Anubis statues who returned her nod with their own and a clenched fist over their chests. She could hear Ahkmenrah screaming as she had for the past fifty four years in storage. She slid the stone slab off until it hit the ground with a loud thud. Ahkmenrah lifted the lid off, removing his wrappings with some help from Kamilah.

"I hate waking up in there." Ahkmenrah stated.

"As do I."

"I can't believe I forgot about you, Kamilah."

"It's okay, Ahkmen. We're together now."

"After all you've been through…"

"Ahkmen." Kamilah placed her hands on his cheeks, forcing him to look her in her eyes, "None of that was your fault. Most of it was my father's."

"I'm sorry. For, everything."

"You weren't the one that banished me to the mortal realm. Nor were you the one that simply called me a sacrifice."

"But it was my father that decided your fate."

Kamilah kissed him lightly, "Ahkmen, my love, you are not your father."


	3. Possibilities

A/N: Sorry for keeping everyone waiting so long. I got burned out and then had surgery but I'm okay now. Thank you SnowKi and Karen Wood for your reviews on the last chapter. Hope y'all enjoy this one :)

* * *

Chapter Three: Possibilities

* * *

Ahkmenrah sat, reading the hieroglyphs in his exhibit once again. They told his story. This is how he remembered how he died. Kamilah walked in and sat next to him, her eyes glancing over the words on the wall in front of them.

"For thousands of years, I had no memory of my death. I'm not sure if knowing is any better."

She read the words to herself, "Pharaoh Ahkmenrah's reign was cut short as he mysteriously died. It was suspected he was murdered by the next pharaoh and his older brother, Kahmunrah."

Kamilah said a curse in their native tongue under her breath, "That… Disgrace is why I died."

Ahkmenrah sighed, "Yeah. My brother hurt a lot of people. I don't even want to know what his reign was like."

Kamilah tilted her head, surprised she could still see past events and confirmed, "No you don't."

Ahkmenrah looked at her, "You can still see possibilities?"

"Apparently, but only for a few moments."

Ahkmenrah removed his crown, setting it on the ground next to him, "Can you..?"

"Of course."

Kamilah moved closer to him, placing her hands on either side of his temples. Her mind was racing with possibilities. She zeroed in on one and focused on it and nothing else. This process proved to be more difficult than when she was alive, but she wasn't surprised by that. Her power became weaker when she was turned mortal and even weaker after she had died.

Ahkmenrah looked around, seeing his kingdom as it once was, right when he reigned over it. It was prospering and so beautiful. He studied every detail as fast as he could, determined to commit it to memory. This is what he wanted his kingdom to be and he was glad it could have been possible.

They were pulled back to reality and Ahkmenrah couldn't help but feel a small tinge of disappointment. That quickly went away when he realized Kamilah looked ready to pass out. He urged her to lay down and put her head in his lap, running his hand up and down her back.

"Thank you, Kamilah."

"You're welcome, Ahkmen."

* * *

Kamilah pushed the top of her crate off, moving around the strange white things in her crate. She stepped out of it, moving across the room to help Ahkmenrah out of his sarcophagus. They could hear Teddy's booming voice from the lobby, talking to someone. They walked out there, hand in hand.

"Lawrence! Good to see you, lad!"

"Yeah. You too, Teddy."

Ahkmenrah and Kamilah turned the corner to see Larry standing among the dozens of crates in the lobby and Ahkmenrah exclaimed, "The Guardian of Brooklyn has returned!"

"Hey, Ahk. Kamilah. Look, McPhee told me what's going on around here. I had no idea."

"Indeed. A lot has transpired, Lawrence, since your last visit. One would say that." Larry cut Teddy off when a weird beeping noise occurred and Teddy added, "Cricket."

"Hey, Bocephus! Little help over here!"

"Hey. Hey, fellas. How you doing?"

"Well, lookee here. If it ain't Mr. Big-in-the-Britches himself, come back just in time to see us off!"

"Yeah, Jed, I heard. Look, I don't even know how this happened." Larry was distracted by the device making the weird beeping noise again.

"Yeah. Yeah, real mystery how this happened. Maybe the answer's on that magic buzzing box there in your hand! You weren't here, Gigantor! That's how it happened. Ain't no mystery."

"The fact is, Larry, there's no one else here to speak on our behalf during business hours."

"None none, dum-dum."

The cavemen started grunting and Kamilah couldn't help but agree with what everyone was saying. This may not have happened at all if Larry hadn't left them all behind.

"Hey, guys! It's okay! I'll call the board in the morning, all right? I got some pull now. I'll handle this. We're gonna be okay here."

"'We'? Did you hear that? You hear Daydream Johnny? There ain't been a 'we' ever since you put us on the 'pay no mind' list. And that's a cold place to be, boy."

"Larry, what's done is done. Even the glory of Rome had to come to an end."

"Would you please not look dramatically off into the middle distance when you say that? It makes me feel worse."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Where are you looking? I'm over here." Larry waved his hand to redirect Octavius' stare to him.

"Just a bit of wall."

"Look, guys. Maybe it won't be so bad."

Atilla mocked Larry and Ahkmenrah and Kamilah couldn't help but chuckle, being one of the only few people in this room that truly understood what he was trying to say.

"Yes. You make a good point. But this is the Smithsonian we're talking about here."

Dexter began chattering.

"Dexter, you don't know that."

"You're missing the point, Gigantor! They're shipping us out!"

"Larry, I know you're trying to make us feel better. I can see that you're genuinely slightly bothered, but it's never gonna be the same. All of us here, together, in this place."

"It ain't never gonna be home, boy."

"Jedediah, please! Lawrence, these are emotional times for all of us. But it is our last night as a family, and I don't want to see it squandered in self-pity. So who will join me for one final stroll through these hallowed halls?" Teddy asked all of them.

Ahkmenrah offered his arm to Kamilah and she looped her arm into his. They walked down the halls, taking in the museum one last time together. Neither of them could believe that after being reunited after a millennia apart, they were being separated again. Both Kamilah and Ahkmenrah were putting off those dreaded words for as long as they could. Saying goodbye was always the hardest to do to those you love the most.

Kamilah looked around, "I'm going to miss these halls." She paused and looked Ahkmenrah in the eyes, "And you."

Ahkmenrah squeezed her hand, "I'll miss you, my dear."

Kamilah looked over her shoulder and saw the impending sunrise. She sighed and they walked back to Ahkmenrah's exhibit where her crate was waiting for her to return to it. They stood in front of it, the words heavy in their throats.

"Hopefully Larry Daley figures something out."

"I hope so."

Ahkmenrah wrapped his arms around her, holding her against him for as long as he could. He pulled back just to commit her face to memory, more determined than ever to remember every last detail. He traced his thumb along her jawline and lifted her chin up ever so slightly and leaned down to kiss her passionately. He pulled away and rested his forehead against her's, not wanting to let her go.

"I guess this is goodbye. Again." Ahkmenrah said barely above a whisper.

"Try and think of it as see you later."

He kissed her forehead, "Sunrise is almost upon us. I love you, Kamilah."

Kamilah sighed, "And I love you, Ahkmen. May the gods watch over you as I cannot."

Kamilah kissed him one last time before crawling back into her crate. The last thing she saw before it turned dark was Ahkmenrah's face. This time, she would not forget a thing about him.


	4. Reunited

A/N: Sorry for the wait. I've not been feeling up for writing lately so I'm taking much longer than normal to get good content out. Hope y'all enjoy!

* * *

Chapter Four: Reunited

* * *

Kamilah sat in the very back of the metal container, her arms crossed. She was not going to fight in this fight. The memories of when she was mortal resurfacing. The realization of the poison crossing her lips; the feeling of her body shutting down as Kahmunrah stood over her with that ridiculous smirk on his face, knowing there was nothing she could do in that moment to save Ahkmenrah or even warn him. The feeling of hopelessness was the last thing she would feel in her mortal life.

"Kamilah! We could use your help!" Octavius yelled.

"I am of no use in this fight."

"Why?"

"That man is the reason why I died. He cannot know I'm here."

* * *

"Hello, Mr Daley. Nice to see you again. Now if you don't mind, I shall take that from you." Kahmunrah snatched the tablet from Larry. "Thank you. Finally. Finally!" Kahmunrah moved to place the tablet in the doorway.

Kamilah was thrown on the floor by Kahmunrah's lackeys. She silently cursed herself, knowing Kahmunrah would recognize her as soon as her face was exposed. She should have just stayed in her hiding place, where she was safe. She slowly stood, moving behind Larry. She would rather face the gods wrath than Kahmunrah.

"If it isn't my brother's whore."

"I am no whore, I assure you."

"No matter. I have no use for you." Kahmunrah waved his hand as if to dismiss her and turned towards his gateway and placed the tablet in the slot, "After three thousand years, my evil army of the damned, my beautiful, beautiful army, shall be… unleashed!" Both Larry and Kamilah looked around unimpressed and Kahmunrah tapped his fingers against each other before continuing, "I'm afraid Mother and Father may have slightly changed the combination on me."

Larry spoke up, "I guess this whole unleashing-the-underworld thing isn't really working out for you, huh? It must be really frustrating, 'cause you've waited thousands of years to come back from the dead and everything and now you can't get it to open."

"Fear not, for I shall wait a thousand more if I must."

"Good, 'cause in a few hours, you'll be standing there in a frustrated position, frozen and we'll walk right out of here with our buddies and that will be that. So I've got all night."

Kamilah shook her head. He just had to say something, didn't he?

"Really? All night? Well!" Kahmunrah pointed at a birdcage, slowly making his way over to it, "He doesn't. Open that cage."

A look of panic crossed Larry's face, "What are you doing?"

Jedidiah yelled out, "No touching! No touching! Don't man handle me!"

"Look, he's having a little tantrum." Kahmunrah pointed out, putting Jed inside an hourglass. "I don't think he has all night at all, Mr Daley. From the looks of things, I'd say he has a little over an hour."

"Take me out of here!"

"You were the guardian! You know all about this tablet. You're obviously much more clever than the rest of us. You may or may not know the combination, but I am going to give you exactly one hour to figure it out." He shoved the tablet to Larry's chest, "If you do not, I shall kill your friends. And please don't think about escaping, for I shall be watching you."

"Look, I don't even know how to begin to decipher this thing, alright? Really?"

"What a pity. And your little cowboy friend seemed like such a charming little fellow. Ah, well. Tick-tock, Mr Daley. Your hour has begun."

"Hey! You got this, partner. I know you do."

"Shoo! Oh and my brother's whore is to stay here."

Larry turned to run as one of Kahmunrah's goons shoved her over by Jedidiah and she caught herself before she hit the ground, rotating her body to sit next to Jedidiah's makeshift prison. She brought her knees to her chest and looked at the scene in front of her.

"Guess it's just you and me."

"There's worse company."

"You mean like Drama Queen over there?"

Kamilah laughed, "Exactly like him."

"Dunno how him and Ahk are brothers."

"There's a reason why their parents left everything to Ahkmen."

"Was Kahmunrah always like this?"

"Ever since I met him. He was always jealous of how their parents favourited Ahkmen, but no one could blame them. Ahkmen proved time and time again that he would make a great king. Kahmunrah always acted like an entitled brat, to put it simply."

* * *

Larry handed Kamilah the tablet after landing so she could put it where it belonged while he rushed the others to the basement. She walked fast, her skirt trailing behind her. She nodded at the statues and they returned the nod, allowing her to enter.

Ahkmenrah pushed the lid off his sarcophagus, pulling his wrappings off, "Kamilah! Is everything alright?"

Kamilah returned the tablet to it's spot and turned to look at him, "It is now."

"What happened?"

"It's almost sunrise so I'll explain quickly." Kamilah took a deep breath, "The monkey stole your tablet, causing the whole Smithsonian to come to life, including Kahmunrah. Long story short, he was shoved into the Underworld."

Kamilah saw the look of worry cross Ahkmenrah's face and the genuine care in his eyes as he placed a hand on her shoulder, "Did he hurt you?"

"I'm fine, Ahkmen."

"That doesn't answer my question."

"He didn't hurt me. Just held me against my will."

She saw the anger start to bubble up in his eyes and his struggle to keep it in control.

Kamilah placed her hand on his cheek, "Ahkmen, I'm okay. I can promise you that."

Ahkmenrah sighed and placed his hands on either side of her face, closing the space between them. His lips were soft and warm against her own. She snaked her arms around his neck and pulled her body closer to him. When she was trapped in that sarcophagus, it was moments like this she didn't think she'd be able to experience ever again.

* * *

A/N: So the next few chapters require me to transcript the third movie which is going to be a task for me. Please be patient with me. See you in the next chapter!


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